


Inner Demons

by fsharp



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, But none of the following movies have happened, F/M, Jotunn Loki (Marvel), POV Female Character, POV Second Person, demon reader, takes place after Avengers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-04
Updated: 2018-10-15
Packaged: 2019-07-06 17:14:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 21,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15890472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fsharp/pseuds/fsharp
Summary: What happens when an assasin is hired to kill Natasha Romanov?You’re a demon who has managed to escape from your responsibilities in Hell. You’ve made a name for yourself as a very skilled assassin, and six years after the attack on New York, you get your biggest target yet: Black Widow.





	1. Chapter 1

You looked up from the body you were crouched over. There were sirens in the air and you could start to see the faint blue-and-red light of police cars. Something was wrong, they weren’t supposed to be here until long after you had cleaned up your mess. A glance down and you decided that there simply wasn’t enough time. You focused your energy and felt as shadows crept up your back and took the shape of wings, matching with your razor-sharp horns and talons. Spreading your wings, you took to the skies, relying on the clouds over the moon to hide your escape.

The flight to your apartment lasted a few minutes. _This job was a little too close to home. I need to be more careful in the future._ You landed in the back alley and vanished your wings, horns, and talons back to the shadows. Adjusting your scarf to cover the blood down your shirt, you walked around to the front of the building. You checked your pockets and cursed when you realized you had left your keys sitting on the kitchen table.

You pressed the intercom and smiled as you spoke. “Hello, Mrs. Alderman! It’s Hannah. Forgetful as I am, I seemed to have left my keys in my apartment. Could you buzz me in?”

“Of course, dearie. How was your evening?” There was a clicking and you pushed the door open slightly before answering.

“It was only okay. I wasn’t able to edit my term paper, but I did get it done.” You talked a little more with the woman who lived below you before insisting that you needed to get to bed. You trudged up the stairs and into your meager apartment. Checking the calendar, you grabbed some leftover pizza and decided that you would have to move on soon. If you spent much longer here, people would start to notice that you didn’t age.

You pulled out your computer and plugged in the flash drive that would ensure secure communication. <The job is done, but someone alerted the police early. I will accept half price for a sloppy finish> It was a few minutes before you got a response.

<My gratitude. You will find the money transferred to your bank account. It was a pleasure doing business with you> You checked to confirm that you had the money before unplugging the flash drive and closing the computer. Slumping back in your chair, you thought about where you would go next. You had already been throughout Europe, so you really couldn’t go back there for a few centuries. Maybe Africa… You sighed and hauled yourself up.

You had just changed into your pajamas when there was a pounding on your door. Glancing through the peephole, you saw it was two police. Your heart rate sped up slightly as you opened the door. However, after you had a good look at them, you were no longer worried. They were both male - typical for this patriarchal society - and clearly newbies on the force. They took one look at you dressed in just an oversized t-shirt and both their faces immediately flushed and they looked away.

The taller of the two addressed you first. “H-hello, ma’am. So sorry to bother you this evening, but by any chance did you hear anything out of the ordinary in the past half hour?” You shook your head and put on your most innocent face.

“I’m sorry, officer. I only got home a few minutes ago. If you want, you can call the coffee shop I was at. I have a big term paper due on Tuesday.” He shook his head and managed to meet you gaze.

“That” A convenient readjustment on your end had him stuttering again. “That w-won’t be necessary. Sorry to bother you.” He and his partner turned to leave, but you grabbed his shoulder and turned him back around.

You handed him a small slip of paper you had conjured behind your back. “Here’s my phone number if you ever” you rested the tips of your fingers on his wrist for a few seconds longer that you normally would “need any help.” With a final wink, you gently shut the door in the sputtering policeman’s face.

You cursed yourself. You were better than this. Normally after you took down the target, you cleaned up the mess and left the body there with a rose clasped in their hands. This was a very sloppy job. You pulled out a suitcase and started packing, now was as good a time to leave as any. You played with the shadows as you worked, making a little kitten to run around your feet.

Your computer pinged. That was odd, you only ever used it for communication and the line wasn’t secure. You abandoned you packing and vanished the kitten back to the shadows as you approached the computer. <High profile target. Are you up to it?> Plugging in the flash drive, you sent a quick reply.

<That depends, who is it?>

<Black Widow>

You slumped back in your chair. An Avenger? And Black Widow, nonetheless. Sure, you had powers, but that woman was a force to be reckoned with. Hell, she had been one of your role models when you had finally decided to become an assassin. You took a breath. If you were gonna go out, might as well go out on a big one.

<I’ll do it>

You gave them the details of the money transfer and told them that you would have the job done by Friday. That gave you three days to plan and execute the attack. You finished packing except for the bare essentials and decided to go to bed. It was going to be a long two days of surveillance.

***

You woke up early the next day. Slipping on a black tank top, some leggings, and a pair of converse, you set out - making sure you had your keys this time.

Avengers Tower was as good a place to start as any. You paused about a block away, using your enhanced vision to scout for cameras. They were clustered around each of the entrances along with some scattered around the top of the building. Since it was still before sunrise, there were plenty of shadows for you to work with.

You gathered your wings and launched yourself to the side of the building. The first window lead to some kind of communal living space, so you flew higher to where the bedrooms must be located. You had to stifle a chuckle as you spied on each of Earth’s mightiest heroes sleeping peacefully. As you flew further up, you sensed a strange magic. You glided over to the window where the magic was coming from.

The curtains were partially drawn, but there was enough of a gap for you to be able to peer inside. You pulled shadows up around you before you looked in. There was a pale man sitting in a chair on the far side of the room. He was a curious subject. A book in one hand and a dagger in the other, he seemed bored. His room was incredibly neat, to the point that his bed didn’t even look slept in.

You inched slightly closer to the window and he stopped twiddling with the dagger. Your breath hitched in your throat as he slowly lifted his gaze from the page to stare directly into your eyes. There was no way he could see you. No human could ever see through your shadows, no matter how strong their mutant powers were. You shook off the feeling and looked around to where your target might be.

There were lights on three floors above you, so you gave the strange man a silent goodbye before continuing your ascent. You had to fly around in a large circle to evade the light, but when you were finally in position, you saw that Black Widow seemed to be finishing up a workout. There was no one else in the gym, so you entertained a devilish idea. If you were being completely honest with yourself, you were a little bored with this identity, and you were ready to move on.

You let the shadows overtake you as you phased through the window. Black Widow had headphones in, but you knew not to rely on that. Shifting back into your human form, you stalked up behind your target. A flick of your wrist and a shadow dagger was held in your hand. You raised the dagger and were about to strike when- “Congradulations. Not many people can sneak up on me like that.”

She turned around and you gave her a sly smile. “High praise coming from the Black Widow. I’m glad I was able to earn it.” You let your arms slump down to your sides. “However, I am currently under contract to kill you, so…” Her shoulders shook as she gave you a light laugh.

“I remember those days.” She took a swig from her water bottle and re-tied her hair up. “Well then. Shall we?” You bounced on the balls of your feet and retrieved another shadow-dagger.

“I really am sorry about this. I actually look up to you. Before you became a hero, that is. How’s it working out?” Both of you stood across from another, tensed up and ready for the fight to begin. But a good assassin never purposefully started an all-out fight. The tension eventually became too much for you and you darted forward, swiping at her arm.

She parried the blow easily, retaliating by trying to sweep your legs out from under you. You turned your legs to shadows at the same time, so she passed straight through. “It’s going really well, actually. That’s a pretty nifty trick. What are you?” She managed to get a good grip on your shoulder and haul herself up to take your neck between her thighs. She was choking you and you really needed to get out of this position, but you just couldn’t help yourself.

You cracked a smile and gave her a wink. “Between your thighs? I usually take a person to dinner first.” You cast your daggers back to the shadows and got your hands under her knees and managed to loosen her iron-strong grip. “I’m a demon. And I actually have some packing to do, so I’m gonna finish this up now.” She just shrugged and you hauled her off yourself, dumping her on the ground.

Re-crafting your daggers, you lunged at your opponent, aiming for the neck. She dodged the assault and darted to the light switches on the wall, turning every single light in the room on. “You draw power from shadows, right? This should give me the upper hand.” Your gaze darted around the room. Any darkness left was trapped under machines, and there simply wasn’t enough to manipulate. All you had left were your daggers.

So you dropped them. They lost their solid form as they fell, and once they hit the ground they slithered back into the darkness. You held up both your hands and Black Widow pressed the intercom. “We have an intruder in the gym, requesting backup to take her down to the cells.” She let go of the intercom and turned to you. “No hard feelings, but I’m going to knock you out now.” You just smiled and braced yourself as she swung her leg around.


	2. Chapter 2

When you woke up, you were in a cell. That was to be expected. What wasn’t expected was when you couldn’t phase through the large window taking up one wall of the room. You looked around, taking in your surroundings. The ceiling and floor were both lined with lights, so there were no shadows for you to work with. The room was sparsely decorated, housing just a cot in the corner and a toilet behind a curtain. You were still dressed in the same clothes, so at least no one had changed you like they did in the movies.

You weren’t sure how long you were sitting there before someone approached the other side of the window. You recognized the intruder as Bruce Banner. He seemed a little skittish, and you looked at him curiously. He rubbed the back of his neck and gestured to the small hole that had appeared in the wall. “Sorry about this, but we need a blood sample.” You stuck your arm out and he did quick work of taking the sample. You thanked him once it was done, much to his surprise.

As Dr. Banner was leaving, Steve Rogers and Tony Stark came in. They stopped a few feet in front of your cell. Steve looked merely curious, but Tony was downright sneering at you. The former gave a small hand gesture and addressed you first. “Hello. My name is Steve Rogers and this is Tony Stark.” You nodded, bored with formalities. Steve seemed to sense your impatience, so he skipped ahead to his interrogation.

“You were able to get in without triggering any alarms. Who are you and how did you do that?” You got up from your perch and walked absentmindedly around the cell.

“Surely you’ve already found out about my most recent alias.” He cocked an eyebrow and nodded, so you continued. “I’m a demon.” Both faces lost their composure at the new information and you smirked to yourself. “Not a high-class one like who you read about in religious texts, but a demon nonetheless.”

It took a few seconds for the information to process, and Tony recovered before his partner. He pounded his fist against the glass. “What the hell kind of prank is this? Just tell us how you got past security!” You turned around and stalked up to your side of the glass, putting your hands on your hips.

“Excuse me? I am not like you mortals, lies and deceit to not aid me in any way. I have been here since long before you were born and I will be here long after you die. I possess powers far beyond anything you could ever imagine, I am a very skilled assassin, and it would do you well not to test me, little man.” You whipped back around and sashayed back over to your cot, leaving Tony slack-jawed in shock.

The blond ushered him aside and the two conversed in hushed whispers. Tony left the room and returned a few minutes later with the strange man you had been watching that morning. He was much taller than you had initially thought, and you had to admit he was attractive. Too bad he was human, you really didn’t want to get attached to any humans. They died too quickly.

Steve introduced the newcomer. “This is Loki. He basically acts as our live-in lie detector. Please tell him everything.” You rolled your eyes.

“Again, I have no reason to lie, but if it’ll put you all at ease.” You paused for a moment. “You might want to sit down for this.” You made yourself comfortable on the cot and began your story. “To start: yes, demons are real. And we have a very strict set of rules. Rules that I have been in violation of for the past three or four hundred years. Anyway, I was ‘born’ about a thousand years ago. In Hell, status is based almost purely on birth. My mother was a very low-class demon, her only job was nightmares.

All demons have the same abilities, but based on class they each receive different levels of training. These abilities include inducing nightmares, guiding souls to Hell, and manipulating shadow, among other things. Now normally I would have taken the same job as my mother, but as I said, class is based _almost_ purely on birth. Occasionally, a higher class demon might take a liking to a lower class one, and marriage will boost the lower class’ status.

That’s what happened to me. Amon is the son of Lucifer himself, which is odd. Hell is a very matriarchal society, and Lucifer is actually the first male-identifying leader we’ve had. Anyway, Amon took a liking to me and my mother jumped at the chance to boost my status, so she allowed to have us officially betrothed when I was still too young to make the choice myself. Starting the day after our betrothal, I was moved into the palace and trained with the elites.

Once I was of age, I realized that I didn’t want to marry Amon. If I’m being perfectly honest, the dude’s a stuck-up know it all. So one day I gave the excuse that I was going soul-collecting and I’ve never turned back.” You finished up, sparing your audience of the details, and prepared yourself for whatever questions they might have. Steve turned to Loki who just nodded. You met the raven haired man’s gaze and held it until the first question was asked.

“You used air quotes when you said born. How do demons come to be and are you immortal? Are you dead?” You shrugged and returned your gaze to Loki’s.

“Female and gender-neutral demons can use a piece of themselves, usually some hair or a fingernail, and with a little magic can conjure a baby. As for immortality, not exactly, but it is very hard to kill a demon. We age normally until our early twenties, and then we stop. I’m not dead, simply because I was never alive.” Again, they turned to Loki, who just nodded.

“Last question for today: If you’re from Hell, does that mean there’s a Heaven? How does that work, religion wise?” You scanned the stoic Captain America from head to toe. This was clearly a religious man, and you didn’t want to disappoint him.

You gave him a soft smile before responding. “Many religions have some version of a Heaven and Hell. When a person dies, their afterlife is catered to their personal beliefs. Demons can travel through different afterlives, but the angels, Valkyries, whatever you want to call them, tend to give us dirty looks when we enter their domains.” You laughed at your little joke, but Loki was the only other one to even crack a smile. “I can put your heart at ease by telling you Peggy Carter is waiting for you in her Heaven.” You watched as his face went through many emotions including shock, sadness, but resting in nostalgia.

“Thank you with your cooperation, Hannah. Although, I do hope you’ll tell us your real name eventually.” You gave him a wink and wave goodbye. He and Tony both left, but Loki remained. You returned his steady gaze and got up from where you were sitting on your cot. Walking up to your side of the glass, you cocked your head while feeling his magic.

“I’ve never felt that much power from a human.” Loki smirked at you and gave a small chuckle.

“That would be because I’m not human, demoness. I am a god from Asgard. The same that attacked your homeworld six years ago.” You shrugged your shoulders and resumed you slow laps around the cell. “How do you not know about me?”

You laughed and laid down on the floor. “You didn’t know about me now, did you?” Loki smiled and you continued. “Besides, six years ago I was in South America. Immortals have to keep moving around.” You groaned and combed your hair with your fingers. “It’s rather boring in here, you wouldn’t have any book recommendations, would you?”

A small stack of books appeared next to your head. “You’re a curious subject, Lady Hannah.” You let out a long laugh and looked through the titles. They actually looked pretty interesting. Looks like you had a lot of material for tonight.

“I could say the same about you, Prince Loki. My name is (Y/N).” The hole where Dr. Banner had taken your blood from earlier reappeared and Loki stuck his arm through. You got up and took his hand, giving it a few curt shakes.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Lady (Y/N).”

“And you as well, Your Highness.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to give feedback or make suggestions!


	3. Chapter 3

You weren’t sure how long you had been locked up for. Steve would come down everyday to ask a few more questions with Loki as a lie detector, and everyday Loki would stay behind to give you books and engage in real conversation instead of just interrogation.

As you got to know Loki better, you found out that he was also immortal, and he had enough power to rival even yours. Occasionally, he would ‘accidentally’ shut off some of the lights in your cell so you could play with the shadows and keep your strength up. Luckily, you didn’t need to eat, because the Avengers kept forgetting to bring you regular meals. They really didn’t get a lot of prisoners.

Today was different, though. Loki came to your cell by himself. He was carrying a small device in his hand, and upon further inspection, you saw that he had a matching device on his wrist. The small hole where different DNA samples had been taken from reopened and you obediently stuck your arm out. Loki slipped the bracelet on and it shrunk down to fit your wrist. The god smiled at you before entering a few digits into the keypad on his side of the glass.

The hole expanded until there was a full-sized doorway standing in front of you. Loki was grinning like a madman, meanwhile you reached out your hand skeptically - this was the god of mischief after all, you couldn’t be too careful. But the doorway was real, and you stepped all the way through. You held up your wrist. “What is this for?”

“My brother’s friends have finally convinced their director to let you out of the cell. However, I am afraid you are on the same conditions I am.” He held up his own wrist, showcasing his matching bracelet. “This device has a mixture of magic and technology capable of suppressing magic.” You reached for your magic and were surprised to find that you were unable to use most of it. The two of you shared a sympathetic look and Loki offered you his arm. You laughed at his formality, but placed your arm on his nonetheless.

You talked about your most recent read - a demon hunter book, courtesy of Loki - while you boarded the elevator and rode up. Stepping out, you saw that you were in the communal living space you had seen who knows how long ago. The Avengers were all gathered around a large-ish glass table in the center of the room. They looked up at you with different levels of distrust as you walked all the way into the room. Loki brushed a kiss against your knuckles before leaving your side to go occupy his own chair.

“We’re going to give you an offer, Hannah.” You rolled your eyes, bored with the alias. “You can either work with us, or I’m afraid Director Fury will detain you on the raft.” Steve wasn’t trying to be mean, but you could tell he wasn’t a man to sugarcoat things. You took a second to weigh your options. You were getting bored with being an assassin. Maybe it was time to try and make up for the lives you had taken…

“What kinds of perks do I get?” You had already made up your mind, but you enjoyed watching people sweat a little.

Clint was the one who spoke up this time. “Housing, meals, and you basically get to live your normal life. The only thing you really need to do is help out when we need to save the world and try not to kill any of us.” You snorted - this was a man you could get along with.

“Alright, I’ll do it.” You’d been imprisoned before, and you had no intention of ever enduring it again. There were a few curt nods and Tony stood up, motioning for you to follow him. Loki looked slightly concerned at the latest development. He hid it well, but you had had a thousand years to perfect your people-reading skills.

You followed the Iron Man back into the elevator. Once the doors were closed and it had started its ascent, he reached forward to punch a button so that the elevator came to a lurching stop. The man turned to you, a dull fire burning in the back of his eyes. “I won’t lie, I don’t trust you as far I as can throw you. I only need to know one thing: will you watch my back? I can’t have anyone on this team if I don’t know whether or not they’ll take the bullet meant for me.”

Fear was coming off of his body in waves, but you’d never tell him. You had more respect for mortals than that. “Demon society it build on loyalty. I understand your hesitance, but know this: that bullet will never even leave the barrel of the gun.” Tony nodded and started the elevator up again. You rode in silence for the remainder of the ride. When you finally stepped out, you saw that you were on one of the living floors.

You were lead down a hallway to where a door was left open. The room had a bed in the middle along with a semi-large closet and a dresser. “This is your room. Dinner’s gonna be in about an hour.” You thanked him and got to work with your shielding spells once he had left. A few minutes passed before you heard a soft knock on the door.

Loki was standing in the doorway. “That is a very affective spell, demoness.” You shrugged and continued your work. Once you were completely finished, you turned to the man in the doorway.

“I invite you, Loki Odinson, into my room.” He stepped all the way into the room, a scowl scattered across his face.

“Odin is not my father.” You rolled your eyes.

“Of course not, Your Highness. But Thor is your brother, keep the name for him.”

You started summoning things from your apartment to decorate your new room. “Thor is not my brother.” Dropping your magic, you turned to Loki.

“You cannot lie to a demon. We are master liesmiths.”

“As am I, and I am not lying. This time.”

“Are you really that much of a dumbass? I mean, I know men are dense, but this is taking it to a whole new level.” Loki’s scowl deepened and you sighed. “I guess I’ll have to prove it then. Go back outside.” Loki gave you a look, but he complied. “My shields require everyone to be invited in each time they want to enter.” He tried to re-enter, but your shields held fast. “I invite you, Loki Laufeyson, into my room.”

He took a step forward, but your shields kept him firmly out. Loki’s jaw dropped and you could have sworn his skin paled a few more shades than normal. You smirked and got back to work arranging your things. When you finally looked back to the doorway, Loki was standing with an annoyed expression on his face. “Come on in, Prince.”

“You do know, as much as I enjoy formalities, they are not necessary here.” You shrugged and put the last few items into their place. Taking a few seconds to enjoy your handiwork, you smiled to yourself. The room now resembled your old apartment. There were a few lamps scattered about for when you had guests - you had no trouble seeing in the dark - a desk in the corner, a bed, some weapons racks, and a few bookshelves.

“Names hold more power than you think. Do you need another example?” Loki laughed.

“No need, demoness.” He glanced at the clock on your desk. “They will be taking the evening meal soon. I know you do not need food to survive, but the others might find it odd if you do not show up.” You groaned and flopped down in a chair.

“Do we have to socialize with the mortals?”

Loki let out another chuckle. You quite enjoyed that sound, and you hoped you would hear more of it in the future. He offered you an arm and you begrudgingly took it. With your powers not limited, transporting all of your things took more energy than you would have cared to admit. “All right, Your Highness, let’s get this over with.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave feedback or make suggestions!


	4. Chapter 4

“Alright, demon. It’s time for your assessment.” You scowled at Tony when he took that tone with you. Nobody trusted you, but at least everyone else tried to hide it. And you knew he was doing it just to be rude. Nonetheless, you hauled yourself up from where you were lounging on the couch and joined him along with Dr. Banner in the elevator to go down to the gym.

Steve had been saying that they needed to see what you could to with their own eyes, but the team kept getting called away on missions, so it had been a few days before they could make time for the demonstration properly. The ride down was silent except for the soft whirl of the fans on the computer Dr. Banner was currently overworking. Apparently your DNA samples were quite the sight to be seen.

When you got down, you saw that the mats had been cleared out of one of the sparring rooms, instead replaced by a circle of chairs. The three of you were the last to arrive, besides Loki who wasn’t allowed to join in this endeavor - you have a feeling they really didn’t want to deal with two highly powerful magical beings at this point in time. Steve stood up when you walked in, ever the gentleman, and addressed you. “We’re going to take off your bracelet for the demonstration. Even though we can’t stop you, please don’t kill us.”

You gave a light laugh. “Oh alright. Since you asked nicely, I won't kill you.” You held up your wrist and Tony came over to take off the bracelet. You felt a rush as your magic coursed through your body after being repressed for so long. Everyone was tense as you took your seat and waited for instructions.

Dr. Banner cleared his throat. “If you don’t mind, can I record this?” You nodded and he set up a few different devices to take record of what you were going to do.

Everyone sat in tense silence as you waited for each other. “Captain, care to tell me what you want a demonstration of?” There was a hint of a flush in his cheek as he looked around to the others for support.

“Just, whatever you feel we need to know.” You nodded at took a breath, turning out all the lights. There was a shift around you, and you knew that everyone had drawn their weapons. You gathered the shadows into daggers while you changed into your hybrid form. When you turned half the light back on, you were standing in all your hybrid glory - horns and wings protruding from your forehead and shoulder blades, and daggers clutched menacingly in your taloned fists. You opened your eyes to reveal that they were pitch black.

“I’m going to need a volunteer.” You looked around. “I’m going to enter your mind, take control for a little bit, and then project your innermost fears and nightmares.” Everyone glanced at each other, hesitant to show that much vulnerability. It was a few moments before Thor stood up. “I need verbal confirmation that you are doing this of your own free will. Full name, please.”

“I, Thor Odinson, heir to the throne of Asgard, agree to aid in this demonstration.” You nodded and crouched down, wrapping your wings around you - you couldn’t defend yourself if you were possessing someone else and your wings were practically indestructible.

You looked around one last time, giving Thor a piece of advice before tucking in your head. “Don’t fight me when I get in there.” You closed your eyes and reached outward with your magic. Quickly locating Thor’s soul you tried to take control, but you were plunged into a dark room instead.

You were standing all alone, but you had felt this magic before. This was Loki’s magic. A person materialized in front of you, and you recognized him as the dark prince. At least it looked like him, but you knew it was a precaution to protect his brother’s mind and soul. The Loki-clone drew twin daggers and you clutched your own tighter in your fists.

“Your highness!” You shouted as loud as you could, trying to reach Loki through multiple layers of magic. “Your highness, Thor has agreed to this, lower your shields!” The Loki-clone lunged, striking out with his daggers. You partied the attack and managed to plunge your own weapon into its shoulder. It was as if the Loki-clone wasn’t even transmitting your message, which you knew it was.

Dragging the dagger that was currently embedded in the Loki-clone’s shoulder down his arm, you took advantage of the distraction it caused and buried the other deep into its side and twisted it, causing major internal damage. It smirked at you and, before your had any time to process, slipped its arms under yours, dislodging your daggers and flinging you across the dreamscape-room. The defensive move was followed by a flurry of daggers that latched themselves into your legs. You cursed and removed them, quickly cauterizing the wounds they left. You gave a blood-curdling scream in pain as you burned yourself, and the Loki-clone that was hovering over you paused from where it was about to plunge another dagger into your heart, effectively killing you.

“Demoness, what are you doing here?” Loki was angry. But you were also in immense pain and in no mood to coddle the prince’s hurt feelings.

“The demonstration, dumbass. I’m going to project Thor’s worst fear, but he agreed to it of his own free will, so if you could just lower your shields, that would be great.” Now Loki was hurt and scared. You had no idea why, but hurt and scared creatures tended to attack first and ask questions later. “Your highness, I don’t know what nerve I just hit, but we can talk about it when I’m done here.”

Another dagger appeared in Loki’s hand. “You will not enter my brother’s mind.” Fuckfuckfuckfuck. He was going to attack and you needed a few more minutes before you could move without the risk of reopening your wounds. You needed to stall him.

“And why not?”

“I will not have his worst fear realized!” Tears were forming in the trickster’s eyes. “I can’t do that to him!” Slowly, his Asgardian armor shimmered into place. Just a couple more minutes and you could defend yourself.

“What’s so bad that his most dear and trusted friends can’t know? And how do you know, have you searched through his mind?” You summoned two more shadow-daggers.

“I don’t need to. Not when I am it.” And with that, the illusion faded. Porcelain skin was replaced with blue and his eyes turned blood red. His height grew about a foot. _Still short for a Frost Giant._ You could feel the hurt radiating off his body. You may not know that whole story, but someone had injured this poor boy. A deep soul wound. The tears were gone, replaced by a steely hatred for what he was. “You see now? I am the one thing my brother fears more than anything else. If gods tremble before this _thing_ that I am, how do you not?”

You managed to rise to your feet, summoning a sword-type thing to use as a support. “Because it’s very hard to fear something, when you are the embodiment of fear itself.” You let your own illusion melt away and felt as shadows took over your body. Everything was made out of darkness, the ends of your wings and feet turning from solids to wisps. The shadows bolstered your height, matching Loki’s.

When you were completely in your demonic form you bared your fangs, waiting to see Loki’s response. You weren’t disappointed. His eyes widened, and he stumbled a few steps back. You pretended not to feel the twinge of hurt inside, it’s not like you expected him to react any differently just because he also came from a race that was immediately feared upon sight or mention. Not at all.

“The fact that you’re Jotun isn’t Thor’s worst nightmare, Loki. It’s yours.” Shock, hurt, and realization fled through his gaze until it settled on rage. Bellowing, Loki shot forward, slashing and cutting at your stomach. You hadn’t expected the attack, and were soon a helpless heap on the ground. The god stood above you, his face contorted in emotion.

“Never step foot here again, monster.” He vanished from the dreamscape and you were too injured to do anything but return to your body.

You slowly emerged from your wing-shield, battered and bloody from multiple wound across your abdomen and legs. The surrounding Avengers looked shocked as they saw you, and you just struggled to stay conscious. You spat out a mouthful of blood. “We’ll do the demonstration another time.”


	5. Chapter 5

It had ended up being a few more days until you could complete the demonstration. You used Dr. Banner this time, projecting the illusion that the Hulk was tearing up the small town he had stayed in before New York, leaving chaos in its wake. The poor man was in tears by the end, but he had agreed to be the guinea pig, so you choose to ignore the angry glares coming from the rest of the team.

You were also on strict bed rest from your wounds, and they were taking their own sweet time to heal. Of course, that was the consequence of running away from Hell. But you were bored out of your mind. You had already read through all of your books and you weren’t allowing yourself to manipulate shadow so that you would heal faster. That mixed with the fact that the only person in the tower who remotely trusted you was currently being a little bitch about his hurt feelings.

But he had hurt you, too. Not just physically. Of course you had been called ‘monster’ before, but that was usually based off of your actions, not the fact that you were a demon. Loki knew about your past, and he called you a monster based purely on what you were. 

Your resolve crumbled and you waved your hand to allow your wings to form - at least the bracelet had allowed you that much magic. Grabbing a sheathed sword from your weapons rack, you used it and your wings to support you as you hobbled out to the elevators. You manage to make it down to the living room and flop down into the hanging chair the team had added for you. Loki was brooding on his couch across the room, and the two of you engaged in a heated glaring contest before you finally drew out a book and some snacks.

“I don’t know why you remain injured.” You gaze snapped up and you could feel your anger buzzing just under your skin, threatening to burst through.

“You know damn well, your highness.” The venom was practically dripping through your voice. “You’re the one who decided my abdomen was a pincushion.”

“You’re the one who didn’t defend yourself!” That was it, your magic started going haywire, throwing things across the room.

“I couldn’t! I trusted you not to attack!” All the windows on the floor shattered outward.

“Why don’t you just heal yourself?!” You were both upright now, Loki standing and you using your wings to match his height.

“I can’t!” You dropped the dagger you didn’t know you had summoned. “I’m a monster, remember? Monsters destroy, they don’t heal.” You sat back down and turned your face away. Loki’s face had flooded with realization and regret when you reminded him of his words. He turned on his heel and quickly returned to one of the upper levels where you assumed his bedroom was. 

You looked around the room, wondering how you were going to clean up this mess without magic. But healing and involuntarily using that much magic had zapped your energy, so you decided to deal with it after a nap. Curling up in your hanging chair, you wrapped your wings around you and closed your eyes.

***

“Should we wake her up?”

“She’s a demon and an ex-assassin. Startling her is probably not in your best interest.” You snorted out a laugh and moved one wing to the side, revealing your face. Natasha, Tony, and Bruce were gathered around your chair, but you noticed that they had left a clear path just in case. 

“Hey. What time is it?” You unfolded your other wing and tucked up the hem of your shirt to check on your wounds. They were angry, pink, and oozing a little bit of black liquid, but that was expected after just a few days of healing. You glanced up to see Dr. Banner flushed and looking away, Natasha looking incredibly intrigued at the state of your injuries, and Tony looking a little too interested at the exposed underside of your breast. 

You pulled your shirt back down and glared up at Tony, snapping your fingers in front of his face. “Hey, perv. Time?” He sputtered a little, but recovered by giving you a wink.

“Clint’s finishing up dinner, he’s making meatloaf.” He gestured around at the upturned furniture and shattered windows. “What happened here?” You groaned and rolled your eyes. 

“His Highness is a bitch.”

Tony laughed. “Nuff said. I’ll get some of the suits to clean up the mess.” You looked at him quizzically, why wasn’t he mad? “Don’t worry about it, all of us have destroyed part of the tower at one point or another.” You thanked Tony and hauled yourself up. You were surprised, not one lie had come out of his mouth, but you could still tell he didn’t trust you.

Natasha helped you walk when you stumbled. “So what’s the deal with your wounds? I just assumed you would have regenerative powers.” You shrugged and took a few more steps, vanishing your wings back to the shadows. 

“Demons destroy. Yes, we can heal faster than humans, but only if we draw power from Hell, and there’s no way I’m going to risk everyone else finding out where I am and dragging me back. I’ve probably been gone so long they’d feel the need to punish me when I got back.” You turned into the kitchen and almost ran straight into Loki. You glared up at him and hobbled over to your chair in the most dignified manner you could.

Dr. Banner brought you a plate and started off on a tangent about your genetic makeup. You provided details and corrected his work where you could, but he had it mostly figured out. Loki kept glancing at you, but you were too busy talking with Dr. Banner to do anything but shoot him the occasional dirty look. By the time dinner was over, you were almost completely out of energy, so you excused yourself and teleported back to your room. 

You changed into your oversized hoodie and climbed into bed. You were just about to fall asleep when there was a knock on the door. Magiking it open, you saw that Loki was standing on the other side. “Speak.” He glanced around and fiddled with his hands.

“May I please come in? This is not a conversation I want everyone hearing.” You rolled your eyes.

“Come in, Your Highness. But no further than two steps.” He took two paces forward, closing the door behind him. 

“I must begin by apologizing for my words. I know exactly what it’s like to be called a monster, even if I deserved it.” He paused and looked around again. “Let me heal you. I can see how much pain you are in trying to save your energy for your wounds.” You paused your glaring at him. This was the most vulnerable you had ever seen Loki.

“I’m still mad at you.” He let out a sigh and took a hesitant step towards your bed. When you didn’t protest, he crossed all the way to your bedside and held up his hands to perform the healing.

“That’s understandable. Although, I must say, it has been rather boring without you to talk to these past few days.” You watched as his magic worked, closing up your wounds and clearing the black liquid away. When he was done, there were still a few bruises and small scrapes, but you were thankful all the worst gashes were healed. “I apologize again, I am not the most skilled of healers.”

You felt the last of your energy start to slip away as your body jumped at the chance to finish healing itself. “Thank you, Your Highness. But I am about to lose control of my illusion and reveal my true form once again…” Loki seemed to be debating something, and after a moment, he sat down in a chair. 

You were going to protest - you really didn’t want to inflict fear upon Loki right after you got over your fight - but the last of your magic slipped out of your control and the shadows crept up your body and left you laying in your full demonic form. You looked down at your hands and waited for Loki to flee from the room, but when you looked up he was still sitting in his chair. Except he had let his illusion fade. 

The two of you sat staring at one another, both in your true forms. “(Y/N), I’m not running anymore.” You were dumbfounded. Not only had Loki used your real name, but you couldn’t feel any fear coming off his body. He was trusting you completely. No one had done that before, and it made you uncomfortable. 

You sunk further down into the pillows and yawned. Yes, you were exhausted, but you also really wanted to get out of this situation. Pulling the blanket up over your shoulder, you called back to Loki as you closed your eyes. “Stay as long as you want, I’m too tired to stay up any longer.” You closed your eyes and felt as sleep crept up on you.

“Don’t run away from your own fears, (Y/N).”

“M’not. Just too tired to deal with it now.” You didn’t realize what you were saying - sleep had already taken too much of your brain - demons weren’t supposed to have fears. Loki knew this, of course, but he would keep the information to himself.


	6. Chapter 6

There was a knock at the door, and when you opened it, you saw it was Loki. He was wearing his signature smirk, and you cocked an eyebrow at him. “The oaf and his friends are gone on a mission, demoness.” You smiled and let your illusion drop. The two of you had taken to allowing yourselves to be in your true form when no one else was around. It took a lot of magic and energy to keep up appearances around the others, and you both relished the breaks you got when they were off on missions.

Loki let his illusion melt away as well as he offered you an arm. You took it and you both headed off to the gym. When you were there, you cleared the mats out of one of the sparring rooms and set up shields so you wouldn’t accidentally destroy the tower with magic. Taking your place, you saw that Loki had a dagger in one hand and a crackling bolt of magic in the other. You summoned your twin daggers and had Jarvis start recording. “Shall, we begin, Your Highness?”

He slung a bolt of magic at you, which you easily deflected with a wave of your wing. You countered by anchoring his feet to the ground with shadow as you bolted forward, your daggers at the ready. He bent backward as you lunged and touched a hand to his ankles, freeing himself of his confines. Ice grew down his arms until he had blades hanging off of the back of each wrist, much classier than the usual Jotun ice-club. You summoned a touch of heat to your fingertips and brushed them against his blades, careful to administer just enough to melt them, but not enough to actually hurt Loki.

Loki swung a leg around to try and knock your feet out from under you, but you turned your legs into shadow. When he was clear of your left leg, you returned to your solid form and squeezed your calves together. Once Loki’s ankle was securely within your grip, you jumped up and twisted, flinging Loki around and slamming him onto the ground. He grabbed your ankle before you could pull away and shoved a small amount of cold into it. You cursed and rolled away while Loki reformed his ice blades.

You weren’t sure how long you ended up sparring with Loki, but by the time you had blades at each others necks, both of you were sweaty and panting. You pulled your arm away and gave Loki a shit-eating smirk. “I believe this is another tie, Your Highness.” He returned your grin and offered you an arm. Taking it, you let him lead you back up to your room so that you could take a shower.

Once you were clean and out of the shower, you tied your hair up and replaced your illusion, just in case the others had come back. However, when you saw Loki lounging around the living room in all his Jotun glory, you let your illusion drop once again. You joined him on the couch, carefully tucking your wings to the side. “What are we doing today, Your Highness?”

He gave you a look when you didn’t take your usual place in your hanging chair, but eventually brushed it off. “Mother sent me a new book the other day, but I have already completed it. Would you like to read it?” You took the book and read the title. _Advanced Illusions and the Mischief they can Cause_.

“Your mother sent you this?” Loki shrugged and conjured another book. You got up and walked over to your chair, settling down and opening the novel. You were about a third of the way through when you finally broke the silence. “You know, if we were to do even half this stuff so far, they’d kick us out.” Loki laughed, but it was cut off as you saw the door burst open. You leapt in front of Loki while you changed into your hybrid form, shielding him from sight to whoever was coming through with your wings.

Thor stumbled across the threshold and you breathed a sigh of relief, although you didn’t lower your shield until you were sure Loki had changed back into his Asgardian form. Once he was, you changed fully back into your human form and went to see why Thor had returned to early. He was clutching a dagger that was embedding in his side and glaring up at Loki. “Brother, why do you do this?”

“I must be sure that the Lady is safe when our babysitters are not around.” Thor removed the dagger and waited while Loki healed the wound. “Where are the rest of your friends, oaf?”

Thor swallowed and you scrunched your nose as a new wave of fear radiated off his body. “There were too many enemies. I have been sent to fetch you and the Lady Demon for assistance.” You blinked your eyes in surprise. Sure, the team had said they would need your help in the future, but you hadn’t expected it to be so soon. You were jolted back to reality as you felt the weight of your bracelet removed from your wrist.

Loki had already changed into his Asgardian armor, and your quickly followed suit, conjuring your signature all-black outfit. “Where are they located, we can get there faster than you if we teleport.” You strapped a few daggers on, just in case.

“About three miles outside of the city. Currently, they are taking shelter and regrouping in an old warehouse.” Using your enhanced vision, you saw exactly where they were. You placed a hand on Loki’s arm - you could teleport both of you there, and it would be easier since you knew the exact location - and with a final glance at Thor, you vanished.

When you reappeared, you were practically on top of the Avengers. Everyone cocked some sort of weapon, so you conjured a small ball of light to reveal you and Loki’s faces in the darkness. “Don’t shoot!” Clint apparently didn’t hear you and sent an arrow flying anyway. Loki barely caught it before it pierced your skin, and when you looked closer, you saw that Clint wasn’t wearing his hearing aids.

[Why on Earth wouldn’t you use your hearing aids during a battle?] He looked a little surprised that you knew sign language, but he brushed it off and smiled back at you.

[I work better without them.] You rolled your eyes and plopped yourself down in the circle. “Get us up to speed.” Steve grabbed a stick and you hovered your ball of light closer to see what he was etching into the ground.

“It’s a group of some sort of mutants, we don’t know exactly what kind of powers they have. They managed to lure us in here and ambushed us. Throughout the whole fight, they seemed to be looking for something, and when they didn’t find it, they teleported away.” He sketched how the fight went as he spoke. “We don’t know their next move, so right now our plan is to try and lure them out again with new opponents.” You saw lightning outside and Thor walked in a moment later.

Nodding to Steve, you motioned for Loki to follow you before extinguishing the light. You crept up to the highest point in the room and reached out to Loki telepathically. /Fight me. Make it convincing/ Concern passed over his face for a moment, but when he saw how determined you were, he drew a blade.

Loki lunged toward your head, but you easily dodged, grabbing his waist and using his momentum to swing him around and onto the ground. You followed through by straddling him just below his shoulders and summoning a dagger to lay against the back of his neck. He went limp and, for a moment, you thought that you had actually hurt him. Before you had any time to check, he surged up, throwing you from the walkway you were on near the top of the warehouse all the way down to the concrete floor below.

You heard a sickening crack as you landed and you let out a long groan. Hauling yourself up, you saw some movement out of the corner of your eye. You stumbled in that general direction to try and tell the team that people were gathering over there. Immersing yourself back in the performance, you called up to Loki. “Get down here and fight me, coward!” A flash of green and the trickster god was behind you. One of his arms snaked around your waist while the other pressed a dagger against your throat.

Fire shot out from where you thought you had seen something and you threw up a shield around you and Loki. Stepping out of the shadows, you saw someone who you hoped you would never see again. “Prince Amon. It’s been a long time.” You changed into your hybrid form when you saw him, spreading your wings as a customary sign of respect and trying to draw focus away from the team and Loki.

“Indeed it has.” He spoke in a raspy tone, matching perfectly with his tanned skin and cropped black hair. In all honesty, he would be incredibly sexy if it weren’t for his shit personality. “Too long. I believe that it is time for you to join us once again.” He started circling around the room, and you countered, desperate to keep yourself in between him and everyone else. “I must admit, it took his a long time to track you down. You’ll have to share your newfound powers with us, after we punish you for a few hundred years, of course. Father will be glad when you’re back, he’s quite cross about having to postpone our wedding for so long.”

You gave him a sarcastic smile. “Is that so? Although, it is such a shame he’ll have to postpone it longer since I’m not going back.” As soon as you said that, Amon’s whole demeanor changed from relaxed to on edge. A second passed and he was right in from of you in a flash, changed into his full demonic form.

He bared his fangs and growled an order at you. “You will come back with me, and you will become my wife.” You brought your knee up in one swift motion and Amon crumpled to the ground. Summoning a dagger, you plunged it deep into Amon’s shoulder and dragged it down, feeling as the flesh ripped under the blade. You leaned down and hissed in his ear while simultaneously tearing into his stomach with your talons.

“You may be able to order others around, but you lost that privilege when you betrothed yourself to me.” You were surprised that he wasn’t howling in pain under your attacks, but when he opened his eyes they were burning with rage. He managed to stand up, injured as he was, and he spat out blood at your feet.

“This isn’t over. I will be back to collect you, _Princess_.”


	7. Chapter 7

You stood there in silence, the adrenaline slowly fading out of your system.

“Are you really Princess of Hell?”

Tony was standing almost directly behind you, and you lashed out with your wings, throwing him across the room. At least he still had the suit on. You mumbled an apology and drew power from the underworld to heal your broken ribs. Amon knew you were in the warehouse, so it didn’t cause any harm to heal yourself before moving on.

Sighing, you motioned for everyone to follow you. “I’ll explain everything back at the tower. It’s not safe to stay here right now.” Thor, Tony, Loki, and you could all fly or teleport, so you each took on a passenger or two and everyone was back at the tower fairly quickly. Natasha immediately started treating wounds and you were relieved when Clint put his hearing aids back in so you wouldn’t have to sign the whole thing.

“Royals can only marry royals. So when a prince or princess wants to marry a commoner, their status is simply elevated. When my mother had us betrothed, I was also given the title of Princess.” You ran your hand through your hair. “That’ll only make my punishment ten times worse if they ever manage to drag me back.”

The team stared back at you in shock. They knew, of course, that you weren’t supposed to be here, but they never understood just how much you were risking. “I have to keep moving. Thanks for letting me stay.” You turned to leave, but stopped when Thor cleared his throat.

“Please excuse my rudeness, Princess, but you cannot leave.” You turned around and gave him a look. “You are a part of this team now, and we protect our own. Just as you put yourself between us and the enemy today.” You looked around as everyone else started to nod their heads in agreement.

“If I stay, they will come for me. I am putting all of you at risk if I do not leave soon.”

Natasha stood up. “You came here because you wanted to kill me. Today you saved all our lives, so you’re staying until we can return the favor.” Throwing up your hands in defeat, you teleported up to your room. In all honesty, you couldn’t believe it. No one should ever trust a demon. Thinking it over, you realized that you really had been ready to fight Amon until you died to protect these mortals.

_Oh no._ You were getting attached. You couldn’t get attached, these were _mortals_. They would die long before you. Groaning, you flopped down onto your bed and let go of your illusion. These people were trusting you. Trusting a demon. You knew everyone’s worst fears and how to deal with them either positively or negatively, but when it came to your own…

You flipped over onto your stomach. You had to protect the team from the horrors of your world. There was a soft knock at the door and you replaced your illusion before answering. Loki was standing there, and you waved him into your room. “Why did you not tell me of your predicament? I thought we could trust one another.” You looked up at Loki with disbelief on your face.

“You thought we could trust one another? Your Highness, I am a creature of death and suffering. If there is one person you cannot trust, it is me.” He scoffed and sauntered over to one of your bookshelves.

“And I am the god of mischief and lies. If we cannot trust in each other at the very least, then we cannot trust in anyone.” You cocked an eyebrow at him and he sighed. “Very well. As a sign of my goodwill, I will tell you something that I have never told anyone else before. There is no obligation for you too tell me anything about yourself.” He paused for a moment. “I once courted with a Lady of Asgard named Sigyn, and she became pregnant, but my heritage carried onto the child and it froze her from the inside out.”

His eyes slowly glazed over with emotion. You took a breath and placed one of your hands on his. “I had a brother, but when Amon and I were betrothed, he felt threatened and killed him. He was just a baby.” Tears pricked at your eyes. You never spoke of your brother, and you couldn’t bear to think about him. Of his stolen future. Loki squeezed you hand.

“Erase our memories of why we know these pieces of each other. If the need ever arises, they can be used to prove we trust one another.” You nodded and, after shifting into your hybrid form, wrapped your wings around yourself and grabbed onto Loki’s soul. Your magic tangled with his mind, working around other dark magic that was already in place. You were withdrawing your magic when you were plunged into a room just like the one guarding Thor’s mind.

“Fuck, not again!” You drew your daggers and changed into your full demonic form. A moment later, another demon materialized in front of you. Except something about them seemed artificial. You cocked your head and waited for them to spread their wings in respect for your status. But they didn’t, instead crouching down into a fighting stance. You mirrored their position while calling out. “Who are you? Why are you here?” They laughed menacingly.

“It is no use to fight, my lady.” Their form was flickering between something that resembled Loki in his Jotun form and a demon. “You cannot defeat me in my own realm.” Their words held no lie, and your mind was racing. Rushing forward, you grabbed the demon by the waist and made a swift retreat back to your body.

You launched yourself out of your wing-shield, ready to fight the demon, but it was as if they had shrunk. They were half the size that they had been in Loki’s mind and all skin and bone. You turned to Loki. “How? How were you able to create your own demon?” He stared in horror, but you couldn’t help but notice that he looked about a hundred years younger.

Loki screeched when he finally processed what was going on. “Put it back!” You looked on in anger and confusion. You were going to ride Loki’s ass about this, but at the moment you had more important things to deal with. Walking over to the shriveled shell of a creature, you put it out of its misery with a quick lashing out of your talons.

“What the actual _fuck_ , Loki?! You made an artificial demon?! What the fuck is wrong with you?!” You had to make a conscious effort to shift back into your human form to refrain from attacking the god.

“I told you to put it back! Now I have to make a new one!” You could feel his magic stir within him and you shifted into your full demonic form as you lunged forward and tackled him. Using your own magic to pin his down, you kept your knees on Loki’s shoulders and stared him down. “Alright! That _thing_ was in my mind to punish me. To remind me every day of what I’ve done. It’s been there for so long… I feel empty without it.”

You let up on him shoulders and shifted into hybrid form, wrapping your wings around Loki and yourself. “It’s gone now, Loki. And you never deserved that, no one deserves that.” You chuckled and Loki looked up at you. “It’s just funny. A demon comforting the god of chaos. Life sure is ironic sometimes.”

Loki added his laughter to yours. “Yeah, sometimes.”

***

Loki’s nightmares let up after that, you could tell in the way that the bags had disappeared from under his eyes and his deathly pale skin had some new life in it. He walked up beside where you were making French toast for the team and laid his head on your shoulder. “Can I help you, Your Highness?”

He snaked a hand forward and took a scoop of the cinnamon you had set aside. “No, I am helping myself.” He stood back up and walked over to sit on the other counter. “As much as I enjoy formalities, I am getting quite bored with this nickname. I believe that it is time for a new one.” You smirked to yourself and thought about your options. Obviously ‘ice cube’ came to your mind first, but you didn’t want to reopen old wounds.

“Alright, Lotor, whatever you want.” You could feel his quizzical gaze burning into your back. “Lotor is the character of a popular cartoon show. If you ever get really bored one day, you should check it out.” Placing the egg-and-cinnamon soaked bread into the pan, you turned around to face the god. “How are you holding up since you have all your magic back now?”

Loki sighed. “It is tiring to have this much power after having it be repressed for so long, but at the same time, it’s a relief. Pretty soon, we’ll be able to create as much mischief as we want.” He smirked and you smacked his arm.

“Slow down, I don’t want that thing on my wrist again anytime soon.” He stuck his tongue out at you and you turned back to plate the French toast, finishing it off with some chocolate sauce, powdered sugar, and whipped cream. You sent out a whisk of magic to wake everyone else in the tower, and it wasn’t long until the smell of freshly cooked breakfast drew them downstairs. You set down plates as each of the zombies sat down. “This is a thank you for not turning me out.”

There were mumbles in reply, and you ended up giving Loki a plate with more chocolate sauce than actual food. Once everyone was fed, you retreated into the living room and conjured the book you were reading. Loki joined you a few minutes later, and you couldn’t help but notice he sat closer to your chair on his couch than normal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Rereading this chapter*: Did I really say ‘’ice cube’ cake to your mind first’?
> 
> My ability to proofread improves tenfold AFTER I post a chapter. Sorry for any typos or grammatical mistakes :P


	8. Chapter 8

You groaned and hauled yourself out of bed, grabbing some hot tea and making your way up to the roof. Forming a beanbag chair and some blankets, you settled down and decided to do some stargazing since you couldn’t sleep. The door opened behind you and you had to suppress a smile when you sensed a familiar magic. “Hey, Lotor. You want a chair?”

A chair appeared beside you with a wisp of green magic. “No need, Your Highness.” Loki sat down beside you and the two of you stared in silence at the stars. “It must be nice now that my brother and his friends trust you.” You shrugged and readjusted in your seat.

“It would be if they did.” Loki cocked an eyebrow in your direction and you turned your head to look at him. “They want to, and I know they’re trying, but if you really look at them, you can tell that they don’t.” He nodded and you returned your gaze to the sky. They really were trying. In the few days since Amon had found you, they were making much more of an effort to let you do things without supervision, but they subconsciously made sure that when one of them was in the room with you, they weren’t alone.

Loki sighed and conjured his own cup of tea. “How can I help you?”

“Hm?”

“With that boy. How can I help you to escape your unwanted betrothal?”

“I honestly don’t know. There’s never been a situation like this before, and now that Amon knows where I am, everything is going to domino. The most we can do right now is be prepared for anything.” You paused and Loki opened his mouth to speak. “And before you ask, all demons have a similar magic signature to mine, so you’ll be able to keep an eye out.”

Loki nodded and you stood up, finishing off your tea. “I’m going back in. You?” He shook his head, and you couldn’t help but ruffle his hair as you passed, as much for your own amusement as for the dirty look Loki shot your way. When the elevator doors closed, you finally allowed yourself to express the small smile that had been yearning to come out as soon as Loki had joined you on the roof.

You stopped by the kitchen on your way back to your room, and you were surprised to see Natasha awake. She glanced at you as you came in before returning her gaze to the small snack she was putting together. “I hope you’re not here to try and kill me again.” She chuckled to let you know that it was a joke, and you put your mug in the dishwasher as you replied.

“No, not this time.”

You made to leave, but stopped when she piped up again. “So what’s with the dopey smile on your face?” Cocking your head, you turned back to the redhead, and she let out a hearty laugh when she saw your expression. “Come on, it’s pretty obvious that you like someone.” You opened your mouth to reply, but Clint suddenly dropped out from some of the air vents on the ceiling.

“What are you two ladies doing up at this late hour?” You rolled your eyes. There was the backup. You made small talk for a few minutes before excusing yourself and teleporting back up to your room. Grabbing one of your copies of the ancient texts, you settled down and opened the giant book. If anything was going to get out out of your engagement, it would be in here.

There was a pounding on your door and you used some magic to open it, seeing Tony suited up standing on the other side. “Come on, Princess. Monster attack on the other side of town.” You summoned on your all-black outfit and teleported upstairs to where one of the quinjets was waiting. You sat down and strapped yourself in, yawning slightly.

Everyone lurched as Natasha took off at breakneck speed, and you gave a breathy laugh as Thor lost his balance and toppled over. “Did we have to have a mission at two in the morning?” Clint glanced back at you from the copilot’s seat.

“Should one of you tell her, or will I?” You looked around and Steve piped up from where he was standing.

“I’ll do it. Hannah, it’s ten till twelve.” Your eyes widened in surprise, you hadn’t realized that you had been reading so long and you had been so rushed that you hadn’t even been outside to notice the sun high in the sky.

You shrugged it off and addressed a more pertinent problem. “Have I really not told you my name yet?” Everyone shook their heads except for Loki, who was just looking smug at the fact that he knew something that nobody else did. “It’s (Y/N), but be careful using it. Real names hold power, even to non-magic users.” Steve looked like he was going to thank you, but Tony cut in before Steve could even get a word out.

“I, Anthony Stark, hereby order you, (Y/N), to be my personal servant forever and ever!” You unbuckled your seatbelt and sunk to your knees, giving Tony a formal bow. “Holy shit, did that really work?!”

You rose back up to your feet and smacked him upside the head. “Of course not, dipshit. I outrank you.” Tony scowled and rubbed his head where you had hit him. He mumbled an insult you couldn’t quite make out and retreated to a chair in the corner of the jet. “Theoretically, Lotor or Goldilocks could try and pull a stunt like that, though. But they won’t because they don’t want a blade through the liver.” You gave the brothers a death glare to solidify your point.

The plane landed and Natasha and Clint got up from the cockpit. “As much as I would love to see some people on this jet get stabbed, we’re here.” They had landed on the top of a building and you took a moment to survey the enemy, unlike a _certain_ couple of boys who just barreled straight into the fight. There were about seventy-five monsters, give or take a few, but there was a pattern to their attacks. It almost seemed like someone dropped a stone in the center of the group and the attack rippled out from there. At this point, it was just you and Loki left on the roof, but you just needed a few more seconds. Your eyes scanned the crowd, and… there!

“Cover me!” Loki nodded and you shifted into your hybrid form while simultaneously wrapping your wings around yourself. It seemed so obvious now, of course the leader would be right smack in the middle of the group. You found their soul quickly and settled in, taking a few moments to get used to the new body.

You could tell that this creature relied purely on brute strength, and you rolled your eyes, longing for the days when you would possess souls with some level of class. Nonetheless, you reached out and started destroying the small army from the inside out, punching and ripping as you made your way towards the team.

The Avengers seemed very confused at this sudden civil war within the enemy, except for Thor who just barreled straight to the leader with Mjolnir ready to strike. Except you were currently possessing the leader. You dodged the attack and shoved the leader’s soul down, allowing your voice to come through as you hissed at the god. “Thanks for that! It’s me, Goldilocks!”

Thor stopped his barrage of attacks and gave you a curt bow. “My apologies, Princess.” You were about to reply when you saw a bolt of green energy out of the corner of your eye. Turning, you saw that a few of the monsters had climbed to the top of the building where Loki was guarding your body. “Go, I’ll take care of this one.” You nodded and quickly returned to your crouched form.

Emerging from your shield, you gave Loki a wicked grin. “Are these mortals bothering you?” Loki returned your smirk as he twiddled with a dagger in his hand.

“Indeed they are.”

“Well we can’t have one of the esteemed princes being bothered, now can we?” He shook his head and the two of you immediately fell into months of rehearsed training.

Alone, each of you were dangerous. But together… No one was getting out of this alive. You relished the chance to actually inflict some real damage after so long of just sparring, and you could tell Loki did as well by the renewed energy in his attacks. The rest of the battle was a blur of ripping flesh and blood, and by the end, both you and Loki found each other in your true forms and panting while encircled by the rest of the team.

Once you realized that they could actually see Loki as a full-Jotun, you leapt forward and blocked their view with shadows to give him time to change back. Then you noticed all the news cameras surrounding you. You changed back into your hybrid form when Loki was looking like an Asgardian again and followed the rest of the group’s example of letting the press take a few photos and ask you some questions.

“Miss, what are you?” You were tempted to tell the reporter the truth out of spite. They seemed so trusting now, would they run when they found out? You sighed and went with your cover story instead.

“I’m human, just like you.” You may not be able to say that you were the Princess of Hell, but you sure as fuck weren’t going to sacrifice any of your signature snark. “I just mutated and developed powers that some might call… demonic.” Loki burst out coughing behind you and you shoved your elbow into his gut, knowing full well that he was hiding his laughter.

Natasha decided that it was time to go a few minutes later and everyone loaded onto the quinjet in silence. “That was terrifying.” You looked up and saw that Tony had paled a few shades after seeing you and Loki fight. Natasha laughed from her seat in the cockpit.

“Bet your glad she just smacked you earlier instead of worse, aren’t you?” He nodded as the rest of the plane burst into laughter, and after a moment, you did, too.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took so long! Rehearsals for the show I’m in just started and homework is kicking my butt, but I’ll try to post a little more regularly.

You ran your hands through your hair and shut yet another book. There was absolutely _nothing_ about getting out of engagements. You could tell someone all about the ancient ways of torture, how to tear a soul from someone’s body, even the plumbing of the palace, but there was nothing on royal marriages. You glanced into your mug to see that you were out of tea and hauled yourself up, deciding to take a quick break.

“Hey, Mischief.” You walked through the living room and into the kitchen, plopping your mug into the fancy coffee-tea-maker-thing. You headed back into the living room and flopped down into your chair. “How are you this fine afternoon?”

Loki looked up from where she was braiding a strand of her slightly-longer-than-normal raven hair. “I’m doing fine. How are you, Princess?” You groaned and sunk deeper into your chair, pulling a blanket around yourself. Loki gave you a sympathetic smile. “No luck yet?” You shook your head and Loki stood up, holding a hand out to you.

Now, you had to admit that Loki was attractive in male form, and while you had never seen her as female until now, you had severely underestimated her looks. You took barely a heartbeat to survey her perfectly sized breasts and the swell of her hips before taking Loki’s hand and allowing her to help you up. “Come, I have plenty of texts in my room. We can check some of those.” You followed her up into her bedroom and immediately headed over to one of the many bookshelves adorning her walls.

There were hundreds of books and you found yourself reading more about Asgard than actually searching for answer to your problem. Loki sighed and pulled her hair up into a high ponytail. “There is plenty about Valkyries and Valhalla, but very little about Helheim and the creatures that come from it.” You shrugged and dove back into what seemed like a woman’s journal. She wrote about Loki and Thor when they were children, and you assumed she was kind of family member.

“That’s one of my Mother’s journals. I thought I had misplaced it.” You handed over the small leather-bound book with a smile.

“Frigga, right?” Loki nodded and you left her to review her childhood memories while you picked up where she had left off in a different book. Hours past and you both gave up the search to reread old diaries and journals. You snorted as you laughed and you felt tears in your eyes. “Did you really have sex with a horse?!”

“It was the only way to escape! And I will have you know that my son is now the most prized steed of Odin.” You blinked back the tears as Loki continued. “There was one time when we were eight. I transformed into a snake, because Thor loves snakes, and when he picked me up, I transformed back into myself and went ‘mblergh it’s me!’ And then I stabbed him.” You leaned backward as you laughed and ended up falling off of Loki’s bed.

Her face appeared between your knees and she stuck her tongue out at you. You returned the favor by flipping her off. “Come now, is that any way to treat your princess?”

“As if. I’m a princess, too, Mischief.”

“What’s with the name change, love?”

You crawled out of the awkward position and sat down on the cool wood floor. “I could ask you the same question.” She just looked at you with curiosity. “Lotor isn’t exactly gender neutral, and I want to be able to call you the same thing no matter what.” Loki blinked at you gratefully and you reached up and booped her nose. Her face scrunched up in surprise and you laughed again.

“I like the sound of your laughter.” Her comment caught off guard and you could feel the beginnings of a blush lurking under your cheeks.

“I like the sound of your laughter, too.” Loki grinned like a maniac. “And I like that’s it’s reserved for me.” Suddenly, she leaned down and stole a chaste kiss from your lips before teleporting away. You knew that she was trusting you more than she had trusted anyone before, but you were too busy focusing the feeling of her lips on yours to think about that. As you lingered on the subject of the stolen kiss, you realized that Loki had left you with only one option.

You would have to steal it back.

***

“Come on! Just for a second, I want to see what it’s like!” You groaned and put your hands over your ears.

“No, Shellhead! And that’s my final answer!” You climbed out of your chair and walked through to the kitchen. Natasha was there, teaching some kind of Russian recipe to Bruce - he said that cooking helped to keep his temper under control. You glared at Tony. “Finally, some _sane_ people!”

Natasha chuckled. “What is he nagging you about this time?” You rolled your eyes and hopped up onto the counter.

“He wants me to possess him. It’s honestly so stupid! Not only does it take a lot of energy on my behalf but humans just cannot understand the experience altogether. While I’ll never experience it from your side of the exchange, I’ve read plenty. It’s not fun.” Bruce looked up from the potatoes he was cutting up with a curious glint in his eye.

You recognized the look and started to shake your head. “No. No, I needed you to back me up on this!” He threw his hands up in surrender.

“I didn’t say anything!”

“But you were thinking it!” You paused for a moment and took a swipe of the chili-type-thing on the stove. “Just tell me this: why on earth would it be a good idea to do this?”

“Understand that this is a hypothetical, but if I were able to record it and analyze the data… It would fill in a lot of gaps.” You sighed and scooted back off of the counter.

“You’re all insane.” You walked over to the elevators and ended up in the gym. Changing into your all-black outfit, you decided to warm up on the treadmill for a little. And by a little, you meant forty five minutes at ten miles an hour, and you had barely broken a sweat by the time you were done. You summoned up a shadow clone while changing into your hybrid form and spread your wings in respect. It repeated the gesture and you both fell into a fighting stance.

You didn’t keep track of how long you sparred, just that every time you felt that you had the upper hand, you created another clone. By the time you were done, you were a bloody, sweaty mess. There was a slow clapping from behind you and you whipped around to see Loki. Although, you weren’t surprised. “That was very impressive, Princess. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you fight that hard before.”

You smiled and shrugged. “Don’t need to most of the time. Assassin, remember?” Loki chuckled and conjured a water bottle for you. You took it gratefully and down it’s contents, vanishing the few shadow clones back to the darkness. “What brings you all the way up here? You’re normally holed up in your room or brooding on your couch if you’re feeling social.” He scowled and you reached up to fluff his hair while changing back into your human form.

“I do hope you don’t plan on making that a habit.” You winked and sashayed out of the room, swinging your hips a little more than you normally would have. Loki followed you out and into the elevator as you magicked some clean clothes on. “So I’ve heard that the tin man wants you to possess him.”

You leaned up against the wall of the elevator and raised an eyebrow at the god. “Are you really bringing that up now? I was actually enjoying myself for a moment.” Loki just shrugged and clasped his hands behind him.

“I don’t necessarily think it’s such a bad idea.”

Your head rolled back and you gave a loud groan. “Not you too!”

“I’m not saying you have to…” You gave him a look and he held his hands up in defense. “Hear me out. If the doctor was able to collect data and we all got to see it in action, then it would be much easier to identify it in battle. That way there isn’t another incident like last time. And you would sedate the nuisance.”

You thought about it for a moment. Loki actually did make some good points - you really didn’t want to be attacked by Thor again. And it would get Tony off your ass. “I can’t believe you actually convinced me to do this.” He ginned and you stepped out of the elevator to see that Bruce had already set up a bunch of data collecting tech and everyone was seated comfortably in their chairs. You punched Loki in the arm and he feigned injury at the small attack.

Sitting down in your chair, you addressed Tony, who looked like a giddy child. “I need you to verbally consent, full name please?”

“Why? You never need permission during battle!” You glared at Tony.

“Do you want me to do it or not?” He yelped and you sighed. “If I don’t get verbal consent outside of battle, it notifies Hell and I really don’t want them to feel like I’m inviting them here.”

Tony nodded and gave you the information you needed. You shifted into your hybrid form and wrapped your wings around yourself, searching for Tony’s soul. You latched onto it quickly and did a quick scan of his mind. If he was going to insist that you do this, you were going to take a little compensation. You situated yourself and felt Tony start to fight for control. /Stop that./

/Stop what?/ You could feel the levels of sarcasm within his mind and you smacked him for it. /Ow! How did you do that?/

/Just shut up and let me do this/ You felt Tony relinquish control and you finally opened your eyes. You rarely got to see yourself from someone else's point of view, and you walked over to your body and gently pulled your wings away. It was covered in small bruises and scrapes from your sparring earlier, but overall, it looked pretty good. You turned back to the team and decided to have a little fun. Putting on your best Tony accent, you started strutting around the room.

“I’m Tony Stark and I like to come up with subpar nicknames for everyone.” You winked at Loki and turned to your curled up form. “Oh Princess, you’re so great! I swear, I will serve you forever and ever!” That got a laugh out of everyone, and you could tell Tony was squirming. /Are you ready for me to leave now?/ His soul twitched and you returned to your body, emerging from your wing-sheild.

You watched Tony blink his eyes a couple of times. “That was an… experience.” You laughed and he rounded on you. “And you! That was nice, quoting me from on the quinjet.”

You took a small bow and smiled. “What can I say? When in Rome, do as Romans do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I use the snake story? Yes, I did. Sorry, not sorry! :P


	10. Chapter 10

“It’s only a matter of time, darling. Sooner rather than later, you will return home to us.” You summoned the double swords you had received the other day and lashed out, but Amon just turned to smoke and teleported away as your blade hit him. “Resistance is futile. Come with me the next time we meet, and I may spare those pathetic mortal’s lives.”

“No!” You shifted into your demonic form, your injuries immediately healing, and spun around, knocking Amon’s legs out from under him. “You will not touch them. They. Are. Under. My. Protection!” You punctuated each word with another blow, but Amon just laughed at you. His amusement fueled your anger, making your attacks uneven and erratic.

Amon summoned chains to pin you in place and hold your hands behind your back before producing a crown from behind his back. “You’ve grown soft, darling. And weak.” He reached up and cradled your jaw. “Nonetheless, I shall still make you my queen.” Amon took the crown and placed it on your head. It burned where it sat, but you refused to give Amon the satisfaction of hearing your screams.

You gritted your teeth and met Amon’s steady gaze. “I will _never_ rule Hell along your side.” He smirked and slapped your face.

“Never say never, darling.” He leaned up and kissed your lips. You could feel his magic infusing itself within you, and before you could react, he had Bonded you to himself. “I will see you soon.” The heat coming from the crown increased until it was too much to bear, and you let lose a blood-curdling scream.

***

You shot up boltright in your bed, a sheer layer of sweat covering your body. Your hand flew to your head to find that the crown Amon had placed on you during the dream was still there. You could also feel the new magic coursing through your veins from the kiss. There was a knocking on the door and Loki came in a moment later. “I felt a surge of magic. Are you alright?” You gave him a shaky nod and removed the crown from your head, setting it to the side.

“Things have changed, Your Highness. Our timetable has been moved up.” Loki’s eyes darkened and he started pacing the room. “Amon was here. He entered my mind and managed to Bond himself to me.” Loki looked towards you, clearly expecting an explanation. “He will be able to find exactly where I am, no matter what. He can sense my very being now.” You stood up and walked over to your bookshelves.

“Bondings are some of the strongest magic demons wield. It is one of the few non-destructive powers that we can possess.” You found the book you were looking for and flipped to the page on Bondings before handing it over to Loki. “They are usually only used between couples, performed during weddings. However, if they are put into place before marriage… neither participant is free to marry anyone else until the one that they are Bonded to is dead.”

Loki tucked the book into a dimensional pocket to read later. “What does that mean for you?” You shrugged and ran a hand through your hair, resting your fingertips on the burned flesh of your scalp for a moment.

“It means that my fate it sealed.”

Both you and Loki fell into silence. There was no good outcome for you in this situation, you were helpless. And you hated being helpless. “Princess, it does not aid in your current situation, but I just realized that you did not invite me in, yet here I am.” Your eyes widened as you thought back over the past few minutes.

“I only added that part of the spell as a joke…” You looked up at Loki in surprise. “The only way for that to be possible is if I trust someone with my life.” Loki looked incredibly touched when he realized what you said, but the emotionally awkward god that he was, he immediately changed the subject, gently plucking the crown from where it rested on your mattress.

“I’m guessing this little trinket came from your betrothed?” You nodded and felt Loki try to vanish it to no avail. “It seems that he has put a powerful little spell on it. Not even I can destroy it.” You shrugged and pulled a small leather-bound book out of your nightstand, copying down your dream. It was the third one this week. Sighing, you finished the entry and returned the journal to its hiding place before crawling back into your bed.

“I’m going back to sleep, stay as long as you want.” You closed your eyes and listened as Loki silently left the room.

Your dreams increased to every night. Sometimes even during the day you could have sworn that you saw Amon lurking in the shadows or just around the corner. You knew exactly what he was doing, trying to get under your skin. And it was working. You needed something, _anything_ , to happen in order to break the building tension within you.

And something happened indeed.

In retrospect, you would have given everything for a different course of events, but your path was sealed the moment that you told Loki you trusted him with your life, and he realized that he would protect you no matter what the cost.

You had been moving around the living room, constantly glancing behind you, when the alarm had gone off. You teleported down to the street before changing into your hybrid form and soaring over the city to where the battle was. You landed next to Loki and the two of you exchanged smirks before shifting into both your true forms.

The two of you leapt into battle against the enhanced. You whipped out your double blades and started slashing at the enemy closest to you. Getting a grip on their shoulder, you hauled yourself up to grapple their head with your thighs. A quick jerk of your hips and they dropped in a lifeless heap on the ground. You spun in midair and tossed your swords through the people on either side of you while simultaneously lashing out in front of you with your talons.

Blood spurted out of the body and soaked into your tank top. “Wow. Thanks for that, it’s not like this was my favorite mission shirt or anything.” You killed them quickly and gutted them before hauling the body onto your shoulder. “Hey, Loki! This bitch empty!” You heard a faint ‘yeet’ from across the battlefield and you heaved the body into the wall of people that was forming. Ripping your blades out of the fallen enhanced, you noticed that the metal was starting to glow red hot. These people had fire powers. You needed to get back to Loki.

But these damn enhanced kept getting into your way. You could sense Loki’s magic signature, but every time you managed to get a little closer, he moved a little farther away. You were just pulling your swords out of another enemy when you felt a shadow fall across our back. It was like everything was launched into slow motion. You spun around, swords at the ready, but a wave of Amon’s hand and you were launched across the battlefield.

All your breath was knocked out of you as you collided with a wall. You looked around in a daze and vaguely registered the fact that one of the enhanced was getting ready to throw a fireball. Blinking a couple of times to clear your vision, you watched as the fireball was thrown towards your crumpled form and, too late, you realized that Loki had flung himself in front of it.

Loki took it straight to the chest, and time returned to normal as he landed in a heap beside you. You rushed over and carefully sliced his armor open. You had to heal him. You _had_ to. He still owed you a kiss. “Loki, stay with me. Stay awake. I’ll get you back to the tower where I can patch you up until Dr. Banner gets back.” Loki blinked a couple of times and you could feel his life force draining out of him.

“Don’t worry, love. We can talk all the time once you take me to Hel.” You took the discarded fabric and tried to stop the bleeding, but the damage was too deep. You tried to draw power from Hell to heal him, but you could only heal yourself.

“No, no, no. Don’t you dare die on me Loki Odinson. I have to steal my kiss back and there is no way I’m going to take something from a dead body.” Loki chuckled and sucked in a few shaky breaths. And then he was gone.

One thing someone should never do is make a demon cry. Because demon tears are made from the blood of those they are mourning. You screamed at Loki’s blood poured down your face. A burst of your magic and each of the enhanced started freezing from the inside out. Except for the one who had killed Loki. Your whole body shook with the force of your sobs as you slowly rose from the ground. You cally walked to the enhanced, and you saw fear flood into their eyes as they listened to the pained screams of their teammates.

You backed them into a corner and they were paralyzed in fear as they gaze upon your pitch black eyes with thick drops of blood leaking out of them. “You have made a mistake. And you will not be given the mercy of a quick death. I will make you suffer as you have made me.” A twitch of your hand and one of their kidneys exploded. They screamed, but you just looked on with a perfect courtroom mask.

Twitch.

Pop.

Twitch.

Pop.

Twitch. 

Pop.

Until all that was left was their heart. You leaned in close and hissed in their ear. “I can’t wait to see you in Hell.” Twitch.

Pop.

A shadow fell across their lifeless form and you whipped around to see Amon. “You killed him.” Amon shrugged and slid a hand around your shoulders. You were too numb to try and push him off. He lead you out to where the Avengers were looking around in confusion and horror at what you had done. Thor was over by Loki’s side, trying desperately to prove that it was just another one of his illusions.

“Lady Demon, please.” Thor’s voice was laced with grief. “Please find him and bring him back to us.” You shook your head as more tears spilled out of your eyes.

“A Valkyrie will have already been by to take his soul to Valhalla. And even if he had gone to Hell, demons do not possess the power to bring people back.” You sucked in a shaky breath, wanting desperately to have that power, even if for just a moment. “I’m sorry, Thor. I’m so, so sorry.” You heard Tony cock his blaster and you looked over to see that it was pointed at Amon.

Tony looked at you sympathetically. “If you want, I’m ready to light this guy up like a Christmas tree.” You shook your head and tried to wipe your tears away, but new ones just replaced them. And you hated it. You hated being covered in Loki’s blood. It was too much like when you were covered in your brother’s.

“There’s no point.” You took a breath and braced yourself. “I’m going back with Amon after Loki’s funeral.”


	11. Chapter 11

The team had protested, as expected, but your mind was made up. There was nothing here for you now that Loki was gone. Sure, you had never been a couple, but Loki had treated you like more than the demon you were. He made you feel like you could be better.

Loki didn’t get a proper funeral since his body would be taken to Asgard for his burial. Thor offered to take you as well, but you couldn’t invade Loki’s home like that. Not after his death was your fault.

The funeral was short and you managed to only spill a few tears of Loki’s blood. Amon stayed with you the whole time, and you were much too emotionally drained to try and insist otherwise. And besides, you were going to be married to him as soon as you got back to Hell. None of the Avengers shed tears, but they were there to support Thor - and you, to an extent.

You changed out of your funeral attire as Thor prepared everything for the trip back, and you eventually found yourself in your room with Natasha standing outside the door. You managed a weak smile as you started packing your things. “Congratulations. Not many people can sneak up on me like that.” You invited her in and she took a seat on your bed.

“High praise coming from a demon. I’m glad I was able to earn it.” You chuckled as you thought back to the first day the two of you had met. “However, I am currently under contract to kill you, so…” You turned to face her with a sly smile on your face.

“I remember those days.” You tied your hair up and summoned your twin swords onto the dresser. “Well then. Shall we?” Natasha fell into a fighting stance before stepping back out of it.

“I was actually voted the one to come and try to convince you to stay.” You shook your head and got back to packing. “You’re sure there’s no way I can convince you?” Sighing, you turned back around and crossed your arms.

“There’s nothing left for me here. I know you’re trying, but you all don’t trust me. At least, not like Loki did. And while I’m sure that we could get there in time, Amon has Bonded himself to me.” A wave of your hand and your things started putting themselves away. “I don’t really want to get into it right now, but it basically means that I have to go back. Thank you for everything you’ve done. I’m really glad I didn’t kill you.”

Natasha sighed and stood back up off your bed. “I’m glad you didn’t kill me too.” She turned to leave, but paused when she reached the door. “If you ever get out of whatever this ‘Bonding’ thing is, know you have a home here.” You thanked her and packed up the rest of your things before banishing them to a dimensional pocket to get later.

Thor was waiting for you downstairs, and he enveloped you in a hug when you joined him. “I’m so sorry, Your Highness. Loki’s death was my fault.”

“Nonsense, Lady Demon. Loki is outwardly cold, but if someone can break through his shell, there is nothing in the nine realms that could stop him from protecting them.” Thor let go of the hug and placed his hands on your shoulders. “He may not have told you, but Loki cared for you deeply. I have never seen him as open as I have with you.” He paused for a moment before adding “You should try to visit him.”

You could feel your blush as you chuckled softly, ignoring Thor’s last comment. If Loki was open with you, he must never speak around other people. The moment was ruined by Amon teleporting to your side. “Come, darling. We have a wedding to attend to.”

“Let me just say goodbye.” Amon rolled his eyes, but nodded. The goodbyes were quick, and you soon found Amon’s arm around waist, ready to teleport you back. You looked around one more time at the place that had been your home for the few months. A few hundred years of torture sure was going to be a downgrade.

Both your and Amon’s voiced mingled as you both repeated the incantation, and you felt an oddly familiar rush as you were transported back to Hell. A moment later and you were in the throne room of the palace.

It was strange to be back after such a long time, but after a quick glance around, you saw that nothing had changed. Demons were creatures of habit, after all. Lucifer was sitting on his throne, all high and mighty, and he had a sickening smile plastered across his face. You shifted into your hybrid form and spread your wings in respect. “Welcome home, child. The wedding will commence straight away. We can’t have you running away again, now can we?”

Rolling your eyes, you turned on your heel and navigated the halls until you found your old room, happy to see that it hadn’t been changed except for routine cleanings. You summoned your things out of the dimensional pocket, and with a wave of your hands, everything was back in its original place from before you left.

There was a knocking at the door, and you opened it to see a couple of servants, one carrying a dress bag. “Oh shit, Lucifer really wasn’t kidding.” As you gave the servants a closer look, you noticed that they looked familiar. They must have seen the look of recognition in your eyes, because a moment later, they both dropped the formalities and rushed in to hug you. “Empusa, Lilith! I can’t believe you’re allowed in here!”

Empusa snorted and kicked her donkey leg against the ground a couple of times. “Oh, please. Lucifer himself wouldn’t be able to keep us from being your personal assistants again.” Lilith, ever the practical one, hung up the bag and unzipped it so that you could see the dress. You paused for a moment and drowned out Empusa’s rambling to stare at it. This was real. You were getting married to the man who had killed Loki.

Your mind whirled as you tried to come up with some way to escape the engagement, but you couldn’t think of anything. You were completely numb as Empusa and Lilith undressed you and laced up your wedding dress. As you looked at it in the mirror, you sneered in disgust. It was too perfect. The way that the black fabric draped itself over your frame, how the lace traveled down your arms, all of it. You didn’t deserve this. You had killed the one person who had cared about you.

Some might have thought that your betrothal was your worst fear. Or dying, or even just what you were. But they were wrong. You were terrified of trust. Nothing good ever came out of it, and someone always ended up getting hurt. And that’s why you distanced yourself. After all, your brother had trusted you and Amon killed him. Then you trusted Loki and Amon killed him.

Lilith finished tying up your hair and you were thrown back into reality with a new plan. You were going to get out of this. And you were going to become Queen of Hell in the process. As Lilith strapped a necklace around your collarbone, she leaned down and whispered in your ear. “I can see you thinking. Put up a facade, don’t let them know.” You nodded and turned around to give each of your ladies in waiting a hug. Empusa was almost crying, but you honestly weren’t sure if it was because you were getting sucked into this or the anticipation of the wedding.

You replaced your courtroom mask as a veil was pulled over your eyes and you were lead to a ballroom. Music started, and you launched yourself into the memory and feeling of when Loki died. You were completely numb, just going through the motions as the ceremony processed, and before you realized what was happening, Amon was pressing his lips against yours, finishing the last part of the Bond that couldn’t be done in a dreamscape.

“Congratulations, darling. The hard part is over. Now you just have to endure your punishment.” You followed Amon as the two of you walked to the Grand Hall. “You’ve been through too much training for our normal methods of torture, so we’re trying a more… interactive method for you, crown princess.” You silently thought about how they would punish you for running away. Loki’s death had already tortured you more than anyone could ever imagine.

You made it through dinner and your first dance as a married couple before you got a hint of what it was.

You were kicking off your shoes when you noticed it. A wisp of green that disappeared around the corner. Glancing behind you, you followed the trail, and when you rounded the corner, you almost ran straight into Loki. You leapt into his arms, only to realize too late that it was an illusion, disappearing in a cloud of red magic as you broke through. So that was it. They were going to take the only other person you cared for and use him against you.

“Come, darling. You didn’t really think that we would let you go with a simple flaying, now did you?” You shook your head, tears pricking at your eyes. “You look a little pale. Why don’t you go lie down?” Turning around, you saw another Loki standing behind you, Amon’s voice coming out of his mouth.

And you ran.

You ran back to your room and choked back tears. Your fault. Loki’s death was your fault. No matter what people said, it would always be _your fault_. Screaming, you punched through the wall. Just a little longer. Just a little longer and you could finish this. You could do this. You had to.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: brief mention of suicide

Loki kept showing up everywhere you went, eventually reaching the point where you weren’t sure if it was you or Amon creating the illusions. You walked around the palace in a daze, Empusa and Lilith were the only people who were actually able to make you feel anything other than misery. You sat down in your room, refusing to move in with Amon until you were forced to. “Hello, love.” You looked up blankly to see Loki standing on the other side of the room.

“What are you doing here?” You had learned weeks ago to not get worked up over Loki appearing. After all, you still had centuries of this to endure. Loki slowly started crossing the room, looking at your possessions along the way.

He picked up a book and absentmindedly flipped through the pages. “Can I not come and visit the woman who killed me?” So this illusion was coming from you. Amon’s never brought up that fact. You toyed with the idea of trying to vanish it, but you knew that all of your power was already going to keeping your husband out of your room. Not only was he putting you through emotional torture, but you were pretty sure he wanted an heir soon. Loki put down the book and walked over to you, but you turned your head away. “Come now, demoness, don’t be like that. You fancy me as well, only you realized it too late.”

“I’m sorry.” You could feel phantom tears forming, but they hadn’t fallen in a long time. There was no blood left to cry. “I’m so sorry. I never meant for this to happen.” Your voice started to crack with emotion, no matter how much you told yourself you didn’t care anymore. “I never meant for you to die.”

“Well, I did.” He crouched down and hissed in your ear. “And it’s all because of you.” The door opened and Loki vanished in a puff of green magic as Lilith walked through. She looked concerned when she saw the remnants of the magic disappearing, but you took a breath and smiled at her, creating a distraction.

She walked over to your chair and hefted the giant book she was carrying into your lap. “Here you go. _How to Kill a Demon_.” You thanked her and she turned to leave before returning to your side. “I’m worried about you, m’lady. I don’t know what happened while you were on the surface, and I’m not going to ask you to tell me, but you’re not the same sarcastic demon you were when you left.”

Sighing, you put the book to the side and stood up, walking over to look at yourself in the mirror. You had giant bags under your eyes, and your frame had shrunken to stick-thin and abused. You ran a hand through your shaggy hair while simultaneously adjusting your skirt. “You’re right. I’m not the same, and I’m never going to be okay. Not as long as Amon is here.” You settled down on your bed and used some magic to carry the book to you, making it clear that you were done talking.

Lilith spread her wings before ducking back out of the room as you opened the book. Your eyes lingered on the chapter about how to kill yourself for a split second as you flipped to the page you needed. You spent the next few hours reading and memorizing until you were positive that you were ready to do this. Hauling yourself off of the bed, you changed out of your nightgown and into a more formal gown, strapping on one of Loki’s old daggers that you had taken underneath the skirt.

You took a breath to steel your nerves before vanishing the book to a dimensional pocket and stepping out of your room for the first time in days. Empusa and Lilith were a half-step behind you a moment later, and you set off towards the throne room where you knew you would be able to find Lucifer. You motioned for your ladies in waiting to stay outside as you entered the throne room, shutting the doors behind you.

Lucifer smiled from his perch as you walked in, and you dropped into a formal bow on your knees, indicating submission. “Rise, child. What do you require?” You stood back up, but kept your head down to hide the clenching of your jaw. Lucifer may be acting fine now, but you knew how he treated his people. Empusa and Lilith had told you about the killing that had been done to ensure his rein. You slowly approached the throne, twitching your hand behind your back to summon a shadow clone. You made sure to use as minimal magic possible so that Lucifer wouldn’t be able to detect it.

“I have realized my place as crown princess and that I have been letting my people down by running away.” You risked a glance up to see Lucifer nodding. “I wish to make it up to you and everyone else, but I don’t know how.” Lucifer raised a hand up and guided your gaze to meet his.

He wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you down into his lap. Inwardly, you were disgusted, you were married to this guy’s son for fuck’s sake, but you put on the facade that you were relieved he was accepting your apology. “Don’t worry, daughter. I’m sure if you worked with Amon to produce an heir, the people would forgive you.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” You paused for a moment and chewed your lip nervously. “I hope it is not too forward of me, but could I give you a hug?” This was risky. Even before you left you weren’t one for physical contact, but Lucifer was completely fooled by your performance, and he opened his arms to embrace you. You wrapped your arms around him, and before he had time to register what was going on, summoned Loki’s dagger to your hand and plunged it into Lucifer’s heart from behind.

He let out a mangled scream as you leapt away, letting your shadow clone take over. It made quick work of pinning down Lucifer’s arms and legs, and you grabbed the exposed tip of the knife, yanking it clear through his chest. You leaned down and growled in his ear. “You have abused your power, and being the highest ranking female, I hereby sent ace you to death.” And with that, you reached into his chest and ripped out his heart. You could feel Lucifer start to regenerate around the heart, and you quickly recited the incantation you had memorized earlier to stop the process. A moment later and the heart turned to dust.

You cleaned up your mess with a wave of your hand, thanking the clone before vanishing it, too. One down, one to go. You walked back out of the throne room in grim silence. You were certain that Lilith knew what had just happened, and you were pretty sure that Empusa had some idea, but both of them kept their mouths shut. They had both had fathers.

Taking a breath, you tapped into the Bond so that you could find Amon. You replaced your disguise of a submissive and beaten shell of what you used to be. Empusa and Lilith followed dutifully in your wake, and you were vaguely aware of the fact that they were transferring some of their energy to you. You made your way through the corridors to Amon’s room where you could feel him pacing through the Bond. Again, you gestured for your friends to wait outside while you walked in.

Amon was clearly agitated, proved when he whirled on you with his fangs bared, but his whole body relaxed when he saw it was you. “Why hello, darling. I wasn’t expecting you.” You dropped into a semi-formal bow - just a bend at the waist - before rising back up to meet Amon’s gaze.

“I have just been to speak Father.” You tried your best not to grimace as you delivered the title. “I have made many mistakes in the last few centuries, and he said that I could begin to make up for them by producing an heir with you.” Amon broke into a smile and took one of your hands, leading you to the bed. You swallowed your surprise, not expecting him to want to start right away.

He sat you down before stripping off his shirt and crawling on top of you. It took all of your willpower to not shove him off then and there, but you accepted his kiss and waited until his body was flush against yours. Then you summoned the dagger and thrust it into Amon’s back, twisting it since he was younger than Lucifer and it would take more power to kill him.

Amon yowled in pain as you resummoned your shadow clone and stepped back while it started to take down your husband. But Amon was much stronger than you thought, and you eventually had to jump in to assist the clone. Your attacks were fueled by thoughts of Loki. You slashed and ripped and cut, going to far as to cut off one of Amon’s arms before the clone was able to pin him to the ground. “What are you doing this?”

“You killed the one person who accepted me and befriended me outside of demon culture. The one person who I trusted with my life. The one person who I dared to love. And you couldn’t even tell me his name.” Amon coughed a couple of times before spitting blood onto the hem of your dress. You crouched down and sunk your hand slowly into his chest, relishing his screams as your talons punctured his heart.

“It was Loki.”

You ripped Amon’s heart out and repeated the incantation, dropping the dust into a jar. You felt your magic flare and you turned around to see another Loki standing behind you. “I’ve avenged you the best that I can, but I cannot leave Hell without a leader. But I promise one day that I will be put to death properly.” The Loki nodded and disappeared in green magic. You took the jar and magiked it into a small moon shaped pendant before draping it around your neck. It would remain there until you could be punished.

Wiping away tears that wouldn’t fall, you stepped out to see Lilith and Empusa bowing before you. They stood up a moment later and you gave each of them a fierce hug before donning your courtroom mask. You had succeeded in making yourself Queen of Hell, and you had an announcement to make.


	13. Epilogue

In the year since you had killed Lucifer and Amon, you had been able to return things to the way they had been before you left. It turned out that not only had Lucifer killed any male demons who had reached a proper age to challenge him, but he had also heavily limited the female and non-binary demon’s power, effectively making himself the sole source of power and changing the matriarchy into a patriarchy.

You tried to think that you were doing good with your power, but every time you started to feel content, your pendant bumped your chest and reminded you of your crimes. Nonetheless, you had put in a new system of check and balances so that no one could rise to power like that again, and Lilith was almost ready to replace you as Queen. It was almost time for you to be put to death. But as you walked through the palace, you decided that you couldn’t die until you visited the Avengers one last time.

Lilith was sorting through papers in the library when you approached. She glanced up once you were at her side and twitched her wings to signal that she was listening. “Good afternoon, Princess. I have come to tell you that I am going to the surface. I do not know how long I will be staying, but don’t worry, I will come back.” You winked at the last part of your statement and Lilith snorted in response.

“Whatever. Go see your surface friends, we’ll be here when you get back.” You nodded and leaned down to give her a hug before reciting an incantation to teleport yourself out of Hell.

You landed in front of the Tower and decided to press your luck by walking straight back to the elevators, completely ignoring normal security protocols. You pressed the button and waited as the elevator came down. “Hello, Jarvis. I’m not sure if you have already, but please don’t notify the others that I’m here. I kinda want to surprise them.”

“Do not worry, Miss, I figured as much. Everyone is gathered in the living room.” You thanked the AI and stepped into the elevator. The ride was short and you were soon stepping back out into the familiar living space.

“I swear, if Jarvis is malfunctioning by not telling us when people are coming up-” Tony stopped abruptly when he turned around and saw you standing in the doorway. The rest of the team were staring at you in shock, and you gave a small wave before looking around the room to see that nothing had changed in the past year.

You walked over to the cluster of mismatched furniture, falling back into your old lifestyle. “I see you left my chair.” You ran a hand over the chain connecting it to the ceiling before sitting down in the basket. “I should probably catch everyone up to speed. So, I went back to Hell, married Amon, killed Amon and Lucifer, have been running Hell as Queen for the past year, and… yeah… That’s about it.” They finally broke out of their trance and Thor scooped you out of your chair to give you a bone-crushing hug.

“Lady Demon, it is so good to see that you are well. We have missed you dearly.” He set you down and everyone else expressed their joy that you were back, even if you couldn’t stay. “Lady, if you don’t mind my asking. How is Loki?” Your breath caught in your throat as you turned to look at the suddenly shy god.

“I… I assume that he is doing well. In all honesty, I can’t bring myself to go see him. Not when his death is my fault.” Thor looked like he was going to argue with you, but he was interrupted by a silky smooth voice coming from behind you.

“But that’s impossible, seeing as I am perfectly well and alive.” You just shook your head, almost immune to the fake Lokis that showed up at different times. The Loki walked up and tried to place a hand on your shoulder, but you brushed him off, taking a step away. “Love, why are you running away?”

You turned to face him, not caring that you were going to look crazy talking to thin air since no one else could see the illusion. “Why are you here, Loki? I get when you torment me at home, but why here? Why do you show up every time I try to be happy?” Loki was looking incredibly confused and he rushed up and grabbed your waist before you could shy away. You stared down to where he was touching you in shock. “How are you doing that?” Illusions always disappeared when touched.

“Because I am real, love. And I am here. What did they do to you?” He must’ve seen the look in your eyes, because he added “What did you do to yourself?”

You tore yourself away from his grip. “But how do I know you’re real and not just that my magic is getting stronger?” You were barely whispering. The Lokis had never affected you this badly since the first week. You had no idea why this one wouldn’t leave you alone.

“I know about your brother.” With those words, you magic undid itself and you remembered the night Loki told you about Sigyn. This Loki had to be real. You hadn’t told another soul about your brother, and you didn’t remember that you told Loki about him until just now, so your illusions couldn’t bring it up. This Loki was real.

He was _alive_.

You ran and leapt into his arms, wrapping your legs around his waist. You gave him a smirk before planting your lips against his and running away again. “I’ve been waiting over a year to take that back!” Loki laughed as you felt the weight months and months of guilt lift from your shoulders. He raced after you and managed to tackle you onto his old couch before covering your mouth with his. “Why did you fake your death?”

Loki sighed and moved off from on top of you. “I was no help to you alive. But dead, I knew you would go back and take care of everything. I would have come sooner, but I didn’t know how.” You shook your head and laughed.

“You’re such an ass. But I guess I am, too.” Loki looked at you quizzically and you leaned in to kiss him again, ignoring the money moving around in the background. You were way to drunk on the feeling of Loki in your arms. Slipping off your necklace, you placed it around his neck, silently promising to explain its significance to him later.

“I love you, Loki.”

“And I love you, (Y/N).”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so, so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed the story, and I am so greatful for everyone who read, commented, and gave kudos. It was a lot of fun to write, and I still can’t comprehend the fact that other people like to read my writing, so just thank you so much!

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to give feedback or make suggestions!


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